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BRA approves residential building that will be mainly affordable and low-income

The Boston Redevelopment Authority today approved plans for a 145-unit building on the Riverway in which most units will be aimed at the sort of people who could not possibly afford the sorts of apartments being built in the rest of the city.

The proposed 11-story building will be next to a Brigham and Women's Hospital building now under construction on the Riverway at Fenwood Road - and the hospital is a partner in the project, for which it is donating the land, along with the Roxbury Tenants of Harvard, a non-profit group that currently maintains some 1,000 apartments in the Longwood/Mission Hill area.

The project, which could get underway later this year, will be split between 60 apartments and 85 condos - of which 43 will be market rate.

The apartments will be set aside for families making 60% or less of the Boston-area median income; the maximum rent for an apartment would be $1,100.

A daycare center and playground are planned as part of the project.

Once ground is broken, proponents hope to have construction completed in two years.

In addition to Brigham's land donation, the state is kicking in $18 million in tax credits.

Anything with no lower limit on income is for the most part just a glorified BHA housing project and does nothing to help the lower middle class folks who are getting pushed out of the city. What we need is affordable housing for residents in the 60-100% AMI range, not for the 0 income young able-bodied crowd that sucks the city's resources dry and gives absolutely nothing in return.